Thank you for comments and concern about the rabbits that were abandoned in Chaddesley Woods nature reserve 10 days ago.

We would like to thank the various organisations, animal rescues and individuals who have helped with the efforts since dozens of domestic rabbits were dumped in Chaddesley Woods 10 days ago.

Chaddesley Woods is a National Nature Reserve, which means it is one of the very finest in the country, and we have been working closely with police, the RSPCA and several charities to ensure that the rabbits have been rescued with minimal disturbance to the wood.

We have asked one local organisation, The Badger Trust West Midlands, to continue the search using their technology, like thermal imaging cameras, and to co-ordinate their search efforts with the Trust.

There is no fixed time for ending the search; we’ll be regularly reviewing how long it will last for and this will depend on the success of finding rabbits. The Badger Trust West Midlands and Worcestershire has the correct thermal imaging equipment to locate any remaining rabbits and we have experience of working with them, sensitively, on our nature reserves. It is much more effective for one organisation (in this case The Badger Trust West Midlands and Worcestershire) to search for any rabbits that are left.

We don’t know how many rabbits have been rescued as a number of charities and individuals have taken some and we haven’t had communications from all of these.

The dumping of these rabbits is abhorrent and, like all those concerned, we want to see them all rescued and rehomed. We will continue to assist with ongoing criminal investigations.

Thank you to Badger Trust West Midlands and Worcestershire for taking on this role. Can we please ask everyone else to refrain from searching for the rabbits and allow the Badger Trust to carry out this important work.